NHL Injury News: Dmitry Kulikov Is Latest Panther To Go Out For Extended Period
Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters that Kulikov could need surgery. He was grabbing his wrist in pain when he left Thursday's game in the second period.
Here's the injury to Kulikov. 😨 pic.twitter.com/WL885u5lM0
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) March 17, 2025
i fear kuli may have broken or fractured his arm/wrist bc his hand was limp skating to the tunnel pic.twitter.com/ebLpWDWIqZ
— B2B🏆🏆- bailey (@flacatsandrats) October 10, 2025
Uvis Balinskis will make his season debut, taking Kulikov's spot on the third pairing next to Jeff Petry.
Kulivkov, 34, has been a steady addition to the Panthers' backline since returning to South Florida for the past two seasons, and has played a solid third-pairing role in each of their Stanley Cup triumphs. He was originally selected in the first round, 14th overall, by the Panthers in the 2009 NHL Draft.
After spending his first seven seasons in Florida, he then went on to play with the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins, before making his triumphant return to the Cats in 2023-24. He's posted a plus/minus rating of +27 over the last two seasons.
Kulikov joins growing list of injured Panthers
Florida is also, of course, without stars Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, who are out long-term, along with depth forward Tomas Nosek. Tkachuk should be back for the second half of the season, while Barkov's timeline is more sketchy, and he could potentially be out for the entire year.
Despite it all, the Panthers won their first two games of the season, and take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
